Home Office caseworker guidance on EU Settlement Scheme applications was updated on 15 October 2026 to reflect Statement of Changes HC 584, and it sets out how applications are considered from 8 October 2026.
Key facts
- Who: Applicants under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) and the Home Office caseworkers who decide their applications
- From: 8 October 2026 (the date from which the guidance says it tells staff how to consider applications)
- Source: EU Settlement Scheme: caseworker guidance
The Home Office has updated "EU Settlement Scheme: EU, other EEA and Swiss citizens and their family members", the UK Visas and Immigration guidance that tells staff how to consider applications under Appendix EU to the Immigration Rules. The page is marked "Updated 15 October 2026" and is version 33.0. The guidance records that this version was published for Home Office staff on 9 October 2026.
The change note says the guidance "has been updated to reflect Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules HC 584, laid on 3 September 2026". The note does not list the individual amendments, so this item does not describe them.
The guidance says it tells caseworkers how, from 8 October 2026, to consider applications made under the EUSS. It also says caseworkers must consider applications in line with the Immigration Rules and guidance in force at the date of decision.
Parts of the guidance include:
- There is no fee for an EUSS application, and applicants do not have to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS).
- Applicants may submit a photocopy, photograph or scanned image of required evidence, other than proof of identity and nationality or of entitlement to apply from outside the UK. Caseworkers can ask for the original where they have reasonable doubt about the copy.
- The status granted is indefinite leave to enter or remain ("settled status") or 5 years' limited leave to enter or remain ("pre-settled status").
- Caseworkers must treat as void an application from a British citizen, or from someone who already holds valid indefinite leave granted under Appendix EU.
- A person whose indefinite leave under Appendix EU has lapsed through absence from the UK and Islands is not eligible for further leave under the scheme. The guidance points them to Appendix Returning Resident.
The guidance also restates the principle of evidential flexibility from the Statement of Intent of 21 June 2018. Caseworkers have scope to give applicants a reasonable opportunity to supply supplementary evidence or remedy deficiencies where a simple omission appears to have occurred.
What this means for applicants
Caseworkers must consider each application under the Immigration Rules and guidance in force at the date of decision, and the updated guidance applies to how staff consider applications from 8 October 2026. The guidance does not say which provisions changed, so applicants with a pending application can read Statement of Changes HC 584 itself for the detail.
Related guide: EU citizens' rights
Sources
- EU Settlement Scheme: caseworker guidance, Home Office, UK Visas and Immigration
- Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules HC 584, laid on 3 September 2026 (linked from the guidance)